The Hunger Games
by VAMPIREACADEMYxlovexTWILIGHT
Summary: Journey Lavender lives in District 12 with her mother Autumn and 9 year old brother Flex. When it is time for the Reaping, Journey is scared to death but hides her emotions until it's time to be Reaped. Will she get picked to be in The Hunger Games?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**AHHHHHHHHH! NO! **I hear as I was woken up from my sleep. I jump up to see Prim in cold sweat and shaking. 'Where's Katniss?' I look up at the old clock on the wall and see that it's early morning. 'Oh. She's hunting" I think to myself. I quickly hug Prim and as I am, I hear her whisper "it was me… She picked me." I close my eyes and take in a deep breath. She had A nightmare of the Reaping again. I was only staying here for the night, but for the past month, she's been having nightmare of the Reaping. I've been having them too. I quickly say "It's alright Prim. They can't pick you. This is your first year." She just nods and I lay her down. "Do you want me to sing?" She smiles and nods her head. I decide to sing the song that Katniss would always sing to me. 'Deep In The Meadow'

"_Deep in the meadow, _

_under the willow._

_A bed of grass,_

_A soft green pillow…"_

Prim starts to sing along and in 2 minutes she was out cold with buttercup laying on her chest. I smile to myself as I see those two. I always loved buttercup. I took that as my cue to leave, so I grabbed my boots and went out the door. Now I'm not an Everdeen. I'm a Lavender. My mother is Autumn Lavender and is a recovering drunk. She started drinking when my father died in the mine explosion along with and a lot of other men. But it took months of arguments and long nights for her to quit. My brother Flex Lavender is only 9 years old and sweet as can be. I'm sweet too but I have a little spunk in me once in awhile. Me and my brother both have light caramel skin, and black hair, and chocolate brown eyes. Our mother is pale ,and red hair, and chocolate eyes too.

As I'm walking in the streets, I see kids getting ready early for the Reaping, old men picking through garbage, and little kids playing and running around. I've only been in the Reaping once and that was last year. I'm 13 now and practically raising my brother. Mom helps, but when she was a drunk, I was raising him 24/7. I love my baby brother, but I'm never having kids. That's what I tell myself almost everyday.

Today, the smoke in the air isn't as bad and there are hardly any clouds in the sky, so some sunlight is streaming through. I'm wearing a black t-shirt and a black light jacket and some grey leggings with black boots. I'm really glad that I did wear boots today because it is very muddy from yesterday's rain.

When I make it to my house, I see mother lying on the green, broken, dusty old couch in the middle of our small living room. As I look closely at her hands, I see a little clear bottle and I quickly know what that was. Whisky. I was too nervous today to care. She drank the day before the Reaping last year too and I know she does it because she's worried about me. But, I just hope I don't get picked, or she might end up like her old self again.

When I walk in to Flex, and I's small bedroom, I see him on the bed that me and him share. He's curled up in a ball and I couldn't help but giggle. He was really cute! Then at my feet I see my kitten Midnight rub up against me. I named him that because of his fur. His fur is black as night, with beautiful green eyes. I bend down to pet him once and decided that I should go and see Peeta, so I walk over to Flex and kiss him on his forehead and leave.

Peeta Mellark is my best friend,other than Prim of course. He's 16, 5'10, blond hair and blue eyes, with pale skin. His family owns the District Bakery and when ever my family needs food he kindly gives us something of theirs. We've been friends for 3 years now and it all started with him asking one question. "Do you know anything about Katniss Everdeen?" Peeta has had a crush on Katniss for as long as I can remember. I never told Katniss this because it wasn't my part to tell.

When I arrived I sneak in the back of the bakery and I see Peeta stocking the back shelves with bread. Just looking at it makes my mouth water. I didn't even notice him until he chuckled. "Hungry J.J?" I playfully glare at him for calling me J.J. I never liked that nickname. "Ok. What did I tell you about calling me J.J?" He just rolls his eyes, and I smirk. "And to answer your question, of course I'm hungry! We haven't eaten in 3 days." I told him. His face dropped, but he reached over to grab a loaf of bread and gave it to me. I happily took it and hugged him. When I was about to leave I heard him say something that made me freeze in place. "Happy Hunger Games" he said in a sad voice. I turned around and said in Effie Trinket's annoying voice "and may the odds be ever in your favor." We both gave a small laugh and said bye to one another and wished each other luck.

When I was walking back, I saw peacekeepers setting up the District square with a stage, lights, screens, and cameras. I felt a little sick as I saw the stage. 'What if….' I tried to shake those thoughts out of my head and quickly got inside. When I did, I saw mother walk out with pretty light blue dress. My brother was sitting on the couch wearing a black dress shirt and matching pants. I run over to him and say "aww. Who is this handsome young man I see!" I smile and so does he. Showing his missing front tooth. I hear mother from the back say "Journey. It's time to get ready sweety." My smile falters and and I start to shake a little. "O-ok mom."

I get in the tub, which is more like a giant bucket and start to scrub and wash everywhere I could. The water quickly was turned into dirty water, and I got out. I went over to the blue dress hanging on the wall and put in on along with some white heel shoes. My mother braids my hair in the back with one braid going down from the top of my head. My mother shows me how I look in the mirror, barely seeing myself because the glass is so dirty and scratched up. "You look so beautiful sweety," I just nod and turn away from the mirror as I heard the whistle. My mother's smile drops and says "O-ok. Time to go" I'm shaking now and I hold on to my brother's hand for dear life. He's 4'7, and I'm 5'3 so it's kinda hard to hold on. We walk outside, and because of the mud, my shoes are already messed up. I just snicker, shake my head, and keep moving.

Every child was out now and we were all either wearing white, or blue. I hear a scream and my name being called. "JOURNEY!" I look closely and see Prim holding Katniss' hand. I wave at them and I quickly hugged my mother, and my brother saying I love u. Then we parted ways, and I was walking with Prim holding my hand, and Katniss on the other side. Me and katniss were sorta friends. We don't hang out and stuff like me and Prim, but we are still friends. We keep walking until we start to split up to have our blood takin. Prim starts to freeze and me and Katniss try to calm her down. "Prim listen to me. They are going to take a little bit of blood…" Prim cuts Katniss off "but you guys said" thats when I cut her off "no Prim. It only hurts a little, and it's really really quick. Ok?" She calms down and nods her head . Prim and goes first, then it's me, then Katniss. I see how worried Katniss is for Prim and I tell her "It's ok. I'll be up there with her because I'm 13 ok? I'll keep her calm" Katniss' face gives a sigh of relief and thanks me. I just smile and nod and say "no problem." I run up to Prim and hold her hand as we get in line.

When we are all there, Effie Trinket gets on stage. I had to stop myself from laughing at her costume. A very very pink outfit, with matching eyeshadow, lips, and eyelashes. And her hair in a afro and is white, matching the color of her painted face with a pink hat at the top. She taps the mic before saying in a high voice "welcome! Welcome! Welcome! Happy Hunger Games! AND may the odds be ever in your favor…. Now before we begin, we have a very special film, brought to you all the way from the capitol!" It's sick how happy she sounds. The video is what they show every time. It always starts with 'War. Terrible war..' I look back at Katniss, and she isn't looking at the stage. She's looking at someone in the crowd. I can't see who, but she/he must've said something funny because she laughs. I turn back around to see Prim who is actually watching it. I just look down through the entire clip. Then I hear Effie say "I just LOVE that!" I roll my eyes. 'Of course you would.'

"NOW! It is time to select one courageous male and female for the **honor **of representing District 12 in the 74th annual Hunger Games. As always.. ladies first." Oh god! It's time. My heart skips a beat and I start to sweat. I can feel Prim's hand tighten around mine, and I do the same. Effie walks to the bowl on her left and reaches in. She swirls her hand around for a bit until she grabs one and comes up to the mic and opens it. She takes a long pause until she says…

"PRIMROSE EVERDEEN" Me and Prim both freeze. Our hands drop to our sides and the girls move to make a small path for Prim to walk through. Prim walks slowly out of the crowd and all I could do was stare. NO! NOT PRIM! My heart beats faster, and faster with each step Prim took. I quickly turn back to Katniss who looks as shocked as I do. She starts to run up to Prim, but the peacekeepers hold her back. She starts thrashing around and screaming "PRIM! PRIM NO!" I know what she is about to say, but I run up to Katniss and trying to stop her thrashing and I quickly put my hand over her mouth and I yell as loud as I can that my throat hurts.. "I VOLUNTEER! I VOLUNTEER!" Katniss stops thrashing and looks at me in horror, but I ignore her as I look at Effie straight in the eye. "I VOLUNTEER AS TRIBUTE!" I say with a confidence that I didn't know I had. The peacekeepers let Katniss go and me and her both run up to Prim and we give a group hug. Prim holds on tightly to me and she keeps screaming "no!" I say "Prim go with Katniss. "NO!" "YES! Go with your sister and go find ur mother. I'm so sorry Prim!"

I say with tears forming in my eyes. Katniss pulls Prim off of me and picks her up. While Prim is screaming "NO!NO!NO!NO!" Katniss says in a sad voice "Up you go J.J" I turn around as peacekeepers escort me to the stage. "Well, well, well, District 12's first volunteer! My! My!" Effie exclaims as I walk up the steps. My heart is pounding hard in my chest it almost hurts. I can still hear Prim screaming my name, but I try to block it out. When I'm finally at the center of the stage, Effie gently puts an arm around my shoulders and asks "what is your' name darling?" I softly whisper into the mic "Journey Lavender". Effie gives a small laugh "well I bet my hat that that was ur friend correct?" "y-yes. But she is more like a sister to me" that was all I said. I looked at the crowd and saw my mother's face looking hurt, sad, shocked, and a little bit angry. My brother in her arms bawling his eyes out. Prim, Katniss, and Mrs. Everdeen are by my mother's side. All there faces show the same emotion as my mom"s.

"Well, lets have a round of applause for District 12's first volunteer! Ms. Journey Lavender!" She starts to clap her hands, while the people, my people in the crowd all kiss their fingers and show the District 12 hand sign. That was our way of respecting a District 12 family member. Effie just looks confused, so she just says "and now.. for the boys." My heart started to beat so fast. My luck today was not going well, and if my friend Peeta gets picked… I don't know what I'll do.

Effie walks to her right, puts her hand in the owl and just grabs one. She walks up to the stage and opens it. What she says just stops my heart.

"PEETA MELLARK!"

OH GOD NO! I look over to the boys side and see Peeta with a shocked, and terrified look on his face. He slowly walks up to the stage, but just before he reaches the first step, I hear a deep voice call out "I VOLUNTEER AS TRIBUTE!" I was shocked and happy someone would do it! As I see someone move from the very back, I knew he must be at least 18. All of a sudden I hear Katniss scream "NO! YOU CAN"T LEAVE ME!" My eyes become really really big at what Katniss said. 'Katniss knows him? I CAN'T KILL ANYONE KATNISS KNOWS! She'll HATE me FOREVER!' I screamed in my head. As the guy walks over to the stage, he first looks at Effie, then at me. He is very tall and well built. 'Definitely 18' I thought to myself. His eyes are an icy blue, skin a little pale, with dark brown mud colored hair. 'He looks so familiar….'

"Well, well, well! This is a very exciting day! 2 volunteers ever to be from District 12 both volunteer on the same day! So tell me.. what is your' name?" He bends into the mic and says "Gale Hawthorn" OH. MY. GOD! Gale Hawthorn! Now I rememer!

_It was a cold, dark rainy day and my family haven't eaten in weeks. We were starving to death. This was when my mom was still a drunk and Peeta was out sick so he couldn't sneak me food. I was siteing under a tree, pale, tired, and my stomach was in so much pain I could barely move. When I put my arms on my stomach, I could feel my ribs. When I thought all hope was lost, I saw a boy, who was really tall, brown hair, and icy blue eyes walk up to a building that was used for trade. He was holding 3 dead squirrels he must've killed and I was just staring at them. He turns his head towards me and I look up at him. His face looked pained and sad, so he walks over to me, bends down, and said "Looks like you need these more than I do." He hands me all 3 of his squirrels and takes off before I could say thank you. That night, me and my family ate for the first time in weeks._

OH MY GOD! I CAN'T KILL HIM!

Effie interrupts my thoughts by saying "come on you two! Shake hands!" We turn to face each other and I see that his 6'3, makes my 5'3 look so small. I reach out my hand to his and we shake. EVEN MY HAND LOOKS SO TINY IN HIS! As soon as we pull apart, Effie yells "HAPPY HUNGER GAMES! And may the odds be ever in your favor!" They quickly take us inside the Justice Building into separate rooms to say goodbye to our families.

I am at the window looking down at District 12 as a peacekeeper comes in and says "You have 3 minutes." Then my family walks in. I quickly run up to hug my baby brother for what might be for the last time. He is crying into my shirt and saying "YOU PROMISED! YOU SAID YOU WOULDN'T LEAVE ME!" I start to cry too. "I know… I know I did and I'm so sorry' I pick him up and I walk to my mother "U CAN'T start drinking again!" She whispers "I won't" I shake my head "no you CAN'T. No matter what you see, or what you feel you need to be strong! And you NEED to BE there for HIM! Do you understand me?!" She nods her head yes and I can see the tears start to form. "Don't cry!.. Don't cry.." We hug with Flex still in my arms. Then the peacekeepers come in and rip my mother, and my brother from my arms leaving me empty. Then, Katniss, Prim, and Peeta come bursting in and attacking me with hugs. Katniss says "thank you for volunteering for me. For the both of us." I just nod and smile. Prim says "U HAVE TO WIN! You have to win for us!" I nod my head and say "of course I'll win! I'm smart and skilled." I told her. She just smiles and lifts her hand to show me a bronze pin. It had a mockingjay and an arrow shooting through it. I take it in my hands and she says "It's to protect you." As we hug again, Peeta says "you're clever Journey! You know everything about survival! You can win this!" Then they leave too. In the room alone, I have one thought in my head. 'There are 24 of us...and only one comes out."

**AN: OK! First Chapter done! I hope you liked it and please leave a review! A KIND review! I will have the clothes and stuff up on my profile.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Me and Gale were both taken to a car and were taken to the train station. Effie was sitting in the middle of me and Gale and was telling us all about the "glory of living in the capital" Instead of listening, I kept thinking of how I got here. How I volunteered for both Katniss and Prim. All of it was sunken in right then and there, now I just had to suck it up and live with it. The motion in the car as we were driving felt really relaxing so that helped. I've never been in a car before, but now that I have, I want to all the time! As the car stopped, we were taken by peacekeepers to the train. There were hundreds of people there just staring at us. My face became red from all the attention, so I decided to look ahead to the train. It was beautiful, I had to admit, and I was first to get on with Gale behind me. Effie was still talking, but i really didn't care. All I saw in front of me was beautiful furniture and AMAZING looking food. All were desserts. I knew some of them because I spent most of my time at the bakery with Peeta. Even if the food looked good, I didn't feel like eating because my stomach is still in knots.

We all sat down with me and Gale sitting side by side and Effie in front facing us. As the train started to move, I noticed that I couldn't feel the train moving. The only way you could tell is if you looked out the window. 'Thats weird' I thought. Effie must've noticed my curiosity because she said "it's wonderful isn't it? 200 miles per hour and you can't feel a thing!" Me and Gale look at each other with the same look that said "are you freaking kidding me!?" Then we both look at her and she starts to move in her seat. Then she says in an awkward voice "I'm going to get your mentor Haymitch. He's probably in the bar car." She says as she walks away.

I heard Gale snicker next to me, and I figured this would be the perfect time to ask Gale the question I've been dying to ask. "Gale? Why did you volunteer for Peeta?" He looks at me intently with his blue eyes and says in a deep voice "because you needed someone who can protect you in the arena. Not some baker boy." I was confused and a little angry by his answer. "W-what do you mean? Peeta is very strong and is my best friend! Of course he would protect me!" He snickers, rolls his eyes, and says "Yeah! I'm sure baker boy can protect you, (he leans in a little to my side) but when it comes down to it, do you really think he would kill himself to save you?" As I look into his eyes, I can't figure out what his emotion is right now. As I think about Gale's question I find myself answering "Of course. He's my best friend. He would have a good reason to save me! (I lean in closer to his side this time) But you don't know me. So why are you?" He looks like he's struggling to find the right answer. When he was about to speak, the door opens automatically to reveal Effie arguing with a middle aged man with shoulder length white-blond hair, blond facial scruff, and he is obviously drunk. His clothes are all in different order and he reeks of alcohol. I can also tell by his movements and the way he slurs his words at Effie.

'GREAT! A drunk for a mentor! I'm going to die!' I think to myself. Why do I keep getting drunks in my life!?

Haymitch looks at us, smiles, nods, and says "Congrats.." He stumbles to the bar area and pours himself what looks like Vodka and then sits down with the cup filled in one hand, and the rest of the bottle in the other. I look over and see Gale giving a death glare to Haymitch. I decided to say something before Gale does something… drastic. "So when do we start.." Before I could say anything else, he shakes his head and says " Wow! Wow! Hold your horses sweet heart! Let me wake up first before you start blabbering away." Ok. He's already starting to piss me off. Now both me and Gale are glaring at him while Effie is primping herself on a couch behind Haymitch. 'She obviously doesn't care.'

After a long 5 minutes of glaring and waiting for Haymitch to speak, Gale finally breaks the silence "You know, you're our mentor! You're suppose to tell us what the hell we are suppose to do to help us!" Effie gives a gasp and says "MANNERS!" Me, Gale, and even Haymitch roll our eyes at Effie. Ok so It wasn't just me and Gale who thought she was annoying. But she is kind, so I'll give her that. Haymitch then says "Listen pretty boy! You want to know what to do!? (Gale and I both nod our heads yes) You can learn to embrace the probability of your sudden death! And know that there is nothing I can do to save you, nore do I want to." Ouch! That last part actually hurt a little. But, I knew that it was really from the drinking. Alcohol makes people say the most hurtful things ever. I would know from my mother. Trust me when I say that the last thing you want your mother to say to you is "I WISH YOU WERE NEVER BORN!"

I decided that I needed to take action, so I stood up to grab the bottle from him when he pushed me down to my seat with his foot. Some of the drink spilled on me, and saw me get splashed and I saw his jaw tighten and his hands clench. I shake my head at Gale saying "I'm fine" Haymitch on the other hand doesn't seem fine. "Look what you made me do to my new pants!" I just snicker at his rant and say "Oh please! Like you can't afford 30 new pairs." He looks shocked and pleased at what I said and says "huh. Smart mouth. That's good. That's really good." He smirks and stumbles all the way to the doors near Effie. "I'm gonna finish this in my room now." He's about to leave when Effie yells "Haymitch! Your room is on **that** side of the train." She points to the door behind us. He groans and turns around and almost falls on Gale, then goes through the right door. Effie decides to leave too and get ready for dinner, and it just leaves me and Gale.

"So are you going to answer my question or not?" I really wanted to know why he was doing this for me. It just doesn't make any sense why a stranger want's to risk his life to save me! He just looks at me and says "because you're friends with Katniss and Prim. You've kept the girl I love from volunteering for her sister.…(he shakes his head) I'm going to go have a talk with Haymitch." He get's up and walks out of the room. So he's the guy Katniss was always talking about. Whenever I was at the Everdeens, I would always hear about this guy Katniss would hunt with.

After washing up in my HUGE room, I head back to the dining room. My hair is let free and is now in waves. I'm still wearing my dress though, because they haven't got clothes for us on the train. As I walk into the dining room, I see Gale and Haymitch in deep conversation and I walk up to listen. "So if the arena is a desert, then how can matches help?" "Well if the desert is dry, it's easier to set things on fire" I decided to butt in to make the statement more clear. "And easier to burn people" Haymitch and Gale looked at me in surprise. "Huh. Smart too. You're just full of surprises sweetheart." He pours himself another glass of wine and I sit down and start eating meat and potatoes. The meat was so tender and juicy I had 3 helping, while Gale had 4 and so did Haymitch. When we were done, Haymitch started to speak again "So now, to get sponsors, you have to get people to like you… no love you. If you are in the woods and it's cold, or in the desert and it's hot, you'll need sponsors. They are the ones that provide matches, rope, food, or water. With pretty boy here, you'll get mostly female sponsors. **You** will most definitely get male sponsors with that pretty little face of your's." I glare at him. I know I should be saying thanks for saying that, but he thinks that's all I am. 'A pretty little face'. So when he reached over to grab a bread roll, I swiftly take my knife and stab the table where his hand was. I wasn't even thinking when I did it. I just… did it.

Gale was shocked beyond belief. His eyes were wide and his mouth was almost to the floor. Haymitch didn't even flinch. But Effie. Effie was pissed at me. "**That is mahogany!**" I huff and just stare at Haymitch, waiting for a response. Then, he burst out laughing! Are you kidding me!? He just laughs while me and Gale look at each other dumbfounded.

**GalePOV**

Me and Journey are looking at each other dumbfounded. Why in the hell is Haymitch laughing when she just almost stabbed him? I have to admit that it was pretty damn impressive, but I could easily tell that from her shock, it wasn't on purpose. 'She reminds me so much of Katniss' I think to myself. Damn it Gale! You can't think of Katniss! I quickly shake those thoughts aside and look back at Journey, but she isn't there. She must've went to her room. I decided to go talk to her, so I get up and go to the back car. The door opens automatically and I see her sitting on her bed looking down at something. It's small and bronze. I realize that it's the mockingjay pin that Katniss gave Prim the day of the Reaping. "How did you get that?" I asked. She jumped, looked up at me and then took deep breaths. I couldn't help but chuckle. Her face was priceless.

"What are you doing in my room Gale?" I smirk and say "hey. You didn't answer my question. Where did you get that?" She rolls her eyes at me and says "Prim gave it to me. She said it would protect me." She then looked out the window. I could see a tear fall down her eye and I couldn't help but feel sorry for her. I sat down on on the edge of the bed and said "Hey.. you do know you're gonna make it. I'm gonna try my best to make sure you are the one that gets out of that arena." She nods her head and says nothing. "I hate the damn Capital! I hate everything and everyone that deals with the Hunger Games… You know, me and Katniss were thinking of running away. Bringing our friends and family with. We would run into the woods somewhere." That when she started laughing. "You guys wouldn't have made it five miles!" I smile at her. "Plus, Prim wouldn't make it in the woods." We both start laughing. That is true though. Prim is too gentle to hunt animals. All of a sudden, a screen pops up on my right and plays the Capital anthem. 'Oh great' I thought.

**JourneyPOV**

The screen on my right pops up and knew it was the Capital. Ceasar Flickerman came on the screen with his blue hair in a ponytail and was wearing a tacky gold suite.

"_Well! It looks like this year's tributes for the 74th annual Hunger Games will be a load of fun! Don't you think folks!? (The crowd of colorful people start to clap and cheer)_ My! My! Lets look back on District 12's 2 volunteers. (They play me running up to Katniss, screaming I Volunteer! And then Gale volunteering.) Isn't this exciting!? I LOVE IT! HAHAHA! (The crowd goes crazy) After a few minutes of showing all the other tributes, I froze at the sight of District 11's female tribute. She was 12 years old. The same age as Prim and looked so sweet and innocent. I can't kill her. I won't!) _Now that we have seen all of our new tributes… lets look at our 73rd Hunger Game champion. (They showed a dark skinned boy in a desert who looks like the age of 17 killing a younger boy. The way he did it made me want to vomit. He was smashing his head in with a rock)_

Then, all of a sudden, the screen went black. I look over at Gale and saw his arm stretched out holding a flat, black device. I realized that he was the one turning the t.v off. I whisper a "thank you" and whip away my tears I formed in my eyes. Gale doesn't say anything. He just looks at me. I start to feel weird under his gaze, so I had to break the silence. "Gale?" "yeah." "I don't want to sound rude, but can you please get out of my room." He smiles and I notice how white his teeth are. I smile back and he gets up and leaves. Leaving me lonely in my room to sleep.

"RISE AND SHINE! We have arrived at the Capitol!" Effie's voice rings out through my bedroom. I groan into my pillows and mumbled "I don't wanna!" I could hear Effie huff in annoyance and say "young lady, if you don't get up then I will just have to send the peacekeepers." That's when I shot out of the bed and Effie looks at me frightened. "oh dear! You need makeup and a comb!" She runs as fast as her heels can handle to the desk and grabs a big brush, and makeup. She pulls me down to a chair and starts brushing, fluffing, and primping. When she's all done I look in the mirror and find myself look pretty. Natural, but pretty. I turn around and said "thanks Effie" and she smiles at me and says "you're welcome sweetheart… Now! Come! Come! It is time!" I groan as Effie pulls me along to the front car where Gale and Haymitch are. Effie pulls Gale and me the door that exits the train and me and Gale are side by side walking out to people with strange clothes, with BRIGHT colors. It was soo loud because of all of the screaming and cheering. I swear I have never seen so many colors in my life! There clothes and makeup were soo strange that I couldn't tell which were boys and which were girls. We kept walking until we arrived at a very tall building. "Oh. My. God" Me and Gale both say at once. We both look at each other and smile. We walked inside and we meet with our grooms people.

I was on a cold metal table being hoes down with warm water. My hair was brushed, and clipped. Then my eyebrows were plucked, then I was washed and scrubbed again with rose water, then waxed, And lastly another scrubb. Then the man who did my wax told me that I will meet Cinna, my stylist.

I was taken to a small room and I was laying down looking up at the ceiling, when the doors opened. "That was the most bravest thing I ever seen. What you did for your friend and her sister. I'm Cinna" he says. He shakes my hand and I get a good look at him. He's dark skinned, wearing some what normal black clothes, and has a small amount of golden eyeliner. His voice seems kind, so I relax. I smile and say "thank you. I'm Journey." He looks sad for a moment and says "I'm sorry this happened to you sweetheart. but I'm here to help you in anyway that I can." I smile and say "Can you take me back to District 12?" He smiles too and says "No. Sorry" We both laugh for a second and then I say "You know most people would just say Congrats." He shakes his head "I really don't see the point in that… So tonight is the Tribute Parade. We take you out and show you to the world." I look down to my feet in disappointment "S-so you're here to dress me up in some stupid costume and make me look pretty?" He shakes his head "No. I'm here to help make you leave an impression. Haymitch did tell you about getting sponsors right?" I nod. "So what am I wearing?" "Well we usually dress the tributes in clothes from their District." Oh god! We're going to wear coal miners uniforms! We are never getting sponsors. "B-but District 12 are coal miners.." He cuts in "yeah, but see I don't want to do that. I wanna do something that they wanna remember. And plus, a girl as brave as you shouldn't be dressed in some stupid costume right?" He smirks. I give a big smile with relief. "I hope not."

After getting dressed, we headed down stairs to wear all the other tributes are getting ready. I was wearing a leather jacket with a high neckline and black leather bell bottom pants. My makeup is red eyeshadow and red lipstick. My hair is up in a clean curly bun. I see Gale wearing a black vest with a high vest has no sleeves and shows off his muscle. The vest is open at the bottom and shows off his… abs? Wow, ok uh…. I look up quickly and hope he didn't see. THANK THE LORD HE DIDN'T! I suck in a deep breath and Cinna takes it as a worried breath. "It'll be fine Journey." I smile and nod at Cinna and then I walk over to Gale. Huh. These heels make me look 4in taller. He looks at me and smiles. "Wow! You look…" I smile and try not to blush. "Yeah yeah. I look pretty." He shakes his head and says "No. You look.. beautiful." I smile wide and then Cinna breaks our little staring fest. "Ok you two, I have something to tell you both." He shows us a long stick with a flame on the tip. What the hell is going on? "We will be setting your clothes on fire" "WHAT!?" Me and Gale yell out at the same time. I didn't want to get burned alive! Is he trying to kill us!? "Calm down. It's safe. I promise. It's not real fire, AND theses suits are fire proof. You won't feel a thing." I nod while Gale is still not convinced it's fake. "Well it sure as hell looks real to me" and Cinna gives a small life and says "well that's the idea."

He walks over to me and before putting the fire on he says "don't be afraid" I shake my head and say "I'm not afraid" He smiles at me and then I'm on fire. The flames are all over my back and all the other tributes are looking at me with shock, anger, or jealousy. Then Gale is set on fire and then it was time to go. We were on chariots with beautiful black horses that were pulling the cart. Each District had a costume on that made the look silly and we were the only ones with an outfit that means something. We were the last to go, and once we went out the crowd went NUTS. They were screaming YES!, WOW!, And they called out me and Gale's name. I looked up and saw my face on the screen. 'I do look beautiful' I start to smile and then i felt something warm and rough wrap around my hand and and I jumped. I looked down to see it was Gale trying to hold it. I move my hand away "what are you doing?" He looks at me "the crowd will love it" I believe him, so I grab his hand and we raise them to the sky. The crowd really did love that. They started to throw roses at us and scream. Me and Gale are both smiling and waving at them and then, we all stop. A man walks on to a high rise stage and he is obviously President Snow. His hair, eyebrows, and beard are all white. We put our hands down as the flames go off. We look up to see President Snow wave to the crowds.

"_Welcome! Welcome! Tributes, we welcome you. (His voice is deep and sends out an echo over the mic.) We are grateful for your courage and your bravery. And we wish you happy Hunger Games! And.. may the odds be ever in your favor."_

There is something strange about him. Something I don't like. His smile, and his words mean something different in his speech. I look over at Gale and see his jaw clenched and unclenched and his hand is tight around mine. He obviously doesn't like President Snow either. Then we were riding back inside. When we arrive Cinna, Haymitch, and Effie greet us with smiles and claps. "That was **amazing!" **Cinna exclaimed. I smile with relief, and I feel like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. "That was pretty impressive kids. So brave." Haymitch said with a swerve in his walk. "Are you sure it's safe to be so close to the flame?" asked Gale. I had to laugh at that. "**Fake** flame" Haymitch corrected. "Are you sure you…" Haymitch looks behind us and I turn back to look at Cato from District 2 glaring at me. I start to feel uncomfortableand Haymitch quickly changes the subject by saying "Let's go upstairs to talk about training." Effie leads us to the elevator and we go all the way up to the top of the building. We get inside and I rush to the bathroom and take all the makeup, and clothes off. I put on a plain grey t-shirt and some comfy flowy black pants. My hair is down and I feel more like myself again.

I walk into the giant living room and see Haymitch and Gale talking on the couch about something that seems important. "What are you guys talking about?" I obviously startled them because they jump and turn around to face me. "nothing. We were talking about nothing." Gale says a little too fast. My eyebrows forward together and I was about to push forward the subject if my stomach wasn't grumbling. Crap. "Well someone's hungry" Haymitch says with a smirk. I glare at him and say "sorry that I don't pack it in like **some** people around here. I was just too busy and nervous to eat anything." I instinctively wrapped my hands around my stomach and turn bright red. CRAP! When I looked at Haymitch and Gale, they both look a little sad about what I said. "Well Effie says there is food coming" Gale says. I smile at him and walk over to the couch and sit next to Gale.

For hours we ate, and talked about the Training. "Ok, so you guys will be training with all the other tributes. They will have instructors to help you out if you need it, and they will be watching to see if you guys try to kill each other. They don't want that to happen before the games even start, so don't get any ideas." Haymitch warns. I nod my head "I won't.." Haymitch cuts me off and says "No. Not you sweetheart. I'm talking to pretty boy sitting next to you." I look over to Gale who looks like he's about to murder Haymitch. And Haymitch just doesn't care. "So, with that said, you should never show your skill, because if you do, then the other tributes first thoughts will be to hunt you down. So work on the things you need help with. Gale, what's your talent?"

"I'm really good with snares. I suck with a bow though. That was always Katniss' job when we went hunting." Haymitch nods, and then looks at me. "So sweetheart, what are your skills?" "Umm.. I'm good with a bow. Really good actually. Katniss taught me. And I'm good with knives." From the corner of my eye, I could see Gale stare at me with adoration. Haymitch smiles "looks like I finally got 2 fighters this year!"

After talking more about training I told everyone I was tired, which was a load of bull, and went to my room. I just needed a break from all the information and let my head process everything I was just told. I sit on my queen size bed that was covered with a soft grey colored fur blanket, and yellow silk pillows. I look around at my new room that I'll be staying in for 2 weeks and I quickly start to miss home. I miss my brother, the Everdeens, Peeta, my mother, and even my cat Midnight. I miss the smell of home, the smell of pine and even the smoke filled sky. I turn my head to the right to find a remote on the desk. Huh. I grab it and it has a scroll button on it. I scroll down and look up to see the giant window turn into the streets of the Capitol with people walking around. Curiosity got the better of me and I scrolled down again. This time it was the desert. It looked so real, like I was actually there. I scrolled down one more time and then I just froze. Home? It looked like home. The grey sky from the smoke and clouds, the tall green pine trees, and bare branches. I walked up close to it, and I touched it to make sure it was fake. I hoped It wasn't, but as I felt the cold glass on my fingertips, it gave me realization that it was indeed fake. My eyes started to sting as fresh hot tears came falling down my cheeks. I walked over to my bed and got under the covers and cried myself to sleep.

_Cold. That's all I felt. I was in the middle of a forest in winter, with nothing but a t-shirt and pants. All of a sudden, my hands feel warm. I look down and see red liquid covering my hands as I'm holding a knife. I hear a small gasp and see Gale lying on the snowy ground with blood soaking into the small ice crystals. Blood was dripping from his mouth and then he goes limp. His blue eyes go lifeless and they just stare at me. His chest shows his skin sliced opened and was gushing. "Oh my god…" Then I hear a loud scream from the back of me and I turn around to find Cato coming at me with a knife. I try to run, but my feet are frozen in ice and I can't move. Then I felt it. I felt Cato's knife plunge into my chest and…._

"**AHHHHHHH!"** I wake up in a cold sweat, and shaking. My heart was beating so fast, I thought it was going to pop out of my chest.Then the doors open to reveal a very alarmed Gale. "are you ok? what happened!?" He rushes over to me and without thinking, I hug him. I hug him tightly as I sob into his shirt.

**GalePOV**

As me and Haymitch were talking about the arena, I heard a really loud scream come from down the hall and I knew it could only be one person. I run all the way down the hall to Journey's bedroom. The door slides open to reveal Journey sweating and shaking. I look around the room to see if someone was in here, but there was no one. "Are you ok? What happened!" I don't know what came over me, I just felt like I needed to protect her. Ever since I saw her at the Tribute Parade, I haven't thought of Katniss. At all. I rush over to her and hug her. I was expecting her to just sit there, but she hugged me back. She held tightly to my neck as she sobbed into my shirt. I could feel it getting soaked with her tears, but I really don't care about that right now.

I start to rub soothing circles around her back as she cried. I would always do that with my little sister Posy whenever she had a bad dream. Huh. Posy, Rory, my entire family. I miss them. Damn the Capitol! Damn them for what they've done! "Do you want to tell me what your nightmare was about?" She nods her head yes and stops her crying. She looks up at me and starts talking about her dream. Saying that she was in the freezing landscape of the arena. The games 2 years ago were in the frozen woods. Most of the tributes died of hypothermia, and the Capitol didn't find it entertaining to watch kids sit around and freeze to death so they probably won't ever do that again. When she got to the part about me dying, I was shocked. Not that I was dead, but that I was in her dream. Me and her have hardly talked since the train ride. Again, I had to push those thoughts aside. I don't know what's with me lately!

Then I heard her laugh. Actually laugh! "What's so funny?" It was nice to see her smile, but I really don't get what's so funny about a nightmare. "It's.. weird. Usually, it would be Prim or my brother Flex who would have the nightmares, and me comforting them. It's just funny being in there shoes." I had to laugh at that. I remember when Prim would have her nightmares when she was really young and I was stuck there while Katniss was out. I would tell her stories of the Jabberjays, and Mockingjays. She became obsessed with birds after that. "Yeah. Well I hope I don't have to tell you about the Jabberjays and Mockingjays." Her face looked shocked. "You.. you're the one who told Prim those stories?" I nod "Yeah. I'm guessing she told you those stories a lot." She nods yes and we both start laughing. After a few awkward silent minutes, Journey breaks the silence. "So.. I feel much better now." I understood what she meant. She wanted me out of her room, so I say goodnight and walk out of her room, and went back to Haymitch in the living room.

He takes one look at me and starts laughing his ass off. "What!?" After a few minutes of laughing, he stops and says "did you two have a water balloon fight in there?" I forward my eyebrows with confusion. "What the hell are you talking about Haymitch?" With a wine glass in his hand, he points down to my shirt. I look down to see a big wet circle on my shirt where Journey must've cried on. "Haymitch, she was crying and I was comforting her, so shut it!" Haymitch puts his arms up in surrender. Well, before drinking the rest of his wine. "Hey, calm down pretty boy. Now, are you sure you want to do this. I mean once you tell the whole world, there will be no turning back." I nod my head and say "yes. I'm sure."

**AN: OHHH what is the plan!? Lol, you'll just have to wait and see. Now let me just say that there will be nothing romantic between these two.. yet. I don't want to rush things. Also, PLEASE REVIEW! PLEASE! TELL ME ANYTHING. IDEAS,OR FEEDBACK. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**JourneyPOV**

After what happened last night, I didn't want to look, or talk to Gale. I looked so weak and I **NEVER **let anyone see me like that. And now with the Hunger Games, I can't let nobody see me weak. After I got up and got dressed in our training uniform that was really **tight, **I was met with Haymitch and Gale down stairs. Gale was wearing his training uniform too, and I must admit, he looked really good. Ok shut up Journey. SHUT UP! I was trying not to look at Gale, while I could feel him looking at me. "How are you?" "I'm fine." I said while looking at a plant near the elevators. When the elevator opens, I quickly get inside along with Haymitch and and Gale and we go down to the training room. When the doors open, it reveals a giant room filled with weapons, dummies, an area that resembles a forest, and a net hung from the ceiling that, I guess was meant for climbing. Me and Gale walk out while Haymitch goes back upstairs. All the other tributes look at us and it starts to feel all gather in a circle as our instructor tells us what we are going to be doing.

"In two weeks, twenty-three of you will be dead, and one of you will be alive. Who that is depends on how well you pay attention over the next 3 days. First, there will be no fighting with the other tributes. You'll have a lot of time for that in the arena. My advice for the training is don't ignore the survival skills. Most of you will want a weapon, when most of you will die from natural causes. Such as infections from an injury , lack of warmth, or too much of heat. Then, there are things such as starvation, and dehydration. Now, lets get started."

I went straight to the climbing station. At first, it hurt like hell. My hands were digging into the rope I got a few cuts on my palms, but i did good. I was always fast at climbing. Then, I went to the berry station with the girl from District 5. She was really quiet and didn't speak to me. She had red hair, blue eyes and a pointed face. She kinda looks like a red fox. I'm just gonna call her Foxface.I didn't do so good with identifying which berry was poison. I only got 4 out of 10. After that, I was waiting in line to do knives. I know Haymitch says not to show our skill, but I think I need to practice more on my aim. As I was waiting in line, I saw Cato picking a fight with one of the other district boys.

"WHERE THE HELL DID YOU PUT MY KNIFE!? WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE TAKING **MY** KNIFE!?" Cato yelled at the boy. The boy was way smaller than Cato, and he looked scared beyond belief. I don't blame him. "I didn't take your knife!" Cato was about to punch him, but peacekeepers came in and tried to calm things down. "LISTEN TO ME YOU LITTLE PUNK! YOU'RE THE **FIRST** ONE I'M COMING AFTER IN THE ARENA! YOU'RE A DEAD MAN!" And then Cato was forced to leave. I see something at the top corner of the room, and saw a girl in the nets with a knife and was laughing. I knew who that girl was. Rue from District 11. She took Cato's knife! I started to laugh. Clever, sneaky girl. That was impressive. I hear another laugh and turn to my right to see Thresh from District 11 laughing and looking at Rue too. I'm guessing she does things like that a lot. But hey! She's a kid, and should still act like one.. for awhile until… The thought gives me a shiver and my smile falters. Gale who is a few feet in front of me noticed my change in mood and mouthed "Are you ok" I just nod and look away.

The rest of training goes by quickly, and by the end of the day we are all sweaty and tired. We head back to our apartment alone. When we get to the elevator, Gale grabs my arm so I would face him. "What's wrong?" Crap. "N-nothing.." "BULLSHIT! You've been ignoring me all day." I take a deep breath and say "I'm just frustrated alright! I'm tired, I'm frustrated, and I'm pissed. So just DROP IT!" His expression doesn't change. He still looks pissed, but doesn't say anything about it. I kinda feel bad about yelling at him, but I don't feel like saying sorry. So, when we get to the top floor, I quickly go into my bathroom to shower and change. When I was done, it was dinner time.

As we were eating, Haymitch and I were discussing District 2. "So why does District 2 seem like they're enjoying being in the games?"because they haven't been mopping, or looking depressed like the rest of us. They are all smiles and laughing. "Well,they train at a special academy, and then they volunteer at the Reaping. By that point.. pretty lethal." Great. "But they don't get any special treatment. I don't think that they are allowed to have dessert, but you can!" Says Effie. I think she was trying to make us feel better, and I thank her for it, but it didn't make me feel better. "So how good are they?" Asks Gale who is setting right next to me. "Well, they are pretty badass if I say so myself. They almost win every year." "**almost" **Effie clarifies for us. "So.. you said you can shoot right?" I nod my head "Yeah, I'm alright." Gale huffs. "I'm sure if Katniss says you're good, then you have to be** really** good!" I look at him, and then turn back to Haymitch. "Gale is **really** good with traps. He's also really strong. I saw him throw 100 pound weights today and acted like it was nothing." Gale laughs. "Well I don't think they're gonna have weights in the games Journey." I huff this time. "No, but you'll have a better chance at winning if someone comes at you with a kni.." "I HAVE NO CHANCE AT WINNING!" Then he gets up and storms away while the rest of us just sit in silence. I think me yelling at him earlier got him a little angry and he decided now would be a good time to take all of it out. As I was just sitting there, flashes of the day where he gives me those squirrels come rushing back. Now I feel really guilty for yelling at him earlier. All of a sudden, I lose my appetite. "I'm done. Excuse me." I get up and go to my room and stay there for the rest of the night.

The next day of training was ok. I knew who had what skill. Clove was also good with knives and she kept staring at me while I was practicing making snares. Cato also. Cato was good with a sword, and glimmer was good with a bow, not great, but good enough. These snares were really hard, because they cramp your fingers. I kept having to stop. I don't know how Gale can do these. Then, I hear a big THUMP and look over to see Gale on the floor. "I run over to him and "are you ok?" He nods and says "yeah. I'm fine. My foot just got twisted in the rope up there." Then I hear laughing. I look over and see Cato, Clove, and Glimmer all laughing at Gale. I glare at them and then turn back to Gale. "Gale, those guys are laughing at you. You need to do something... you see those weights over there? Pick the heaviest one and throw it." He nods and goes over and picks the biggest one. He looks pissed as he stares at Cato. His jaw clenched and then he throws the weight and lands very close to Glimmer, Cato, and Clove. They all went dead silent. Catoe says nods his head in approval and says "not bad" and they go back to their own business. Gale turns around and mouths a "thank you" and I smile. We look at each other for awhile until the whistle blows and it's time for us to go.

Dinner was fine as usual, but now Gale and me are talking again, it's been a little better. After dinner, I'm in my room looking at the window when there is a knock at my door. "COME IN!" and it's non other then Gale. "Hey." I say. "Hey" he says awkwardly. "Look, Gale I'm sorry I yelled at you yesterday. I know I shouldn't have and you didn't deserve it." Gale shakes his head. "No. It was my fault. I shouldn't have pushed you like that." It went into an awkward silence for what seemed like forever, but then he decided to speak. "So does this make us friends?" I look up at him shocked. Friends? "Gale, I don't think that's smart. I mean, once we go into the arena, we won't be friends any more. We'll be enemies." She thinks long and hard about what I just said. "Maybe we don't have to be enemies. We could be allies." I look up at him as if he was crazy. "Gale, that's a good thought, but if it comes down to you and me (it probably won't) I can't kill you. I can't kill anybody" He looks sad as I look up at him. "Maybe you won't have to kill me. I could do it for you." That's when my blood went cold. "NO! You are not going to do that! Not for me!"

"I already made a promise to your friends and family that I would get you out of that arena. When I make a promise, I keep it. And I will get you out of that damn arena in one piece!" I don't say anything. There is nothing to say. "Hmmm.. Goodnight Journey" And then He was gone. Leaving me with my thoughts.

Today was the last day of training. And I wanted to go over EVERYTHING that I sucked at. I went to the berry station 3 times, and went to the survival station and made snares. When I was done, I still had time left and went to see how Gale was doing. He was at the camouflage station and he was painting his hand that looked like tree bark. It looked really cool. "Hey" I said with a happy face. "He looks at me and smiles and says "hey." I look down at his hand "how did you do that!?" He starts to turn a little red and says "I used to paint. I don't anymore because of what happened a couple years ago." I nod my head as I knew what he was talking about. The mine explosion. "oh...well you're really good." He says thanks and looks behind me and says "huh. Looks like you've got a shadow." I turn around where Gale was looking to find a very shy Rue peeking from a knife shelf, and when she noticed me looking, she hid. I couldn't help but smile. She reminded me of how shy prim was when we first became friends. After training, we went up to our apartment as usual, and got ready for dinner. When we were eating, Haymitch was telling us about our Skill test tomorrow. "Tomorrow, they are going to have you choose your skill, and score you on how good you do. This is important because higher ratings means more sponsors." As he says that, something shocked me, Effie, and Gale. As the Avox cam to refill Haymitch's drink, he denied it by putting his hand over his glass. WOW! Haymitch isn't drinking!

"So, now is the time to show them EVERYTHING you got. There will be a bow, so Journey make sure you use it. And Gale you have to show your strength. They'll go in order of all the Districts started with 1, so you guys will go last. Now, my last advice for this is… make sure they'll remember you."

**AN: OK GUYS! CHAPTER 3 is done! Now this story won't have many chapters, since I'm writing long chapters.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Today was the Skill Test. I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. My hands were shaking and were sweating. Me and Gale are in the elevator going down to where the training room was. "Are you scared?" I ask Gale. He snickers and says "no. Theres no reason to be nervous with these people." I look at him confused "But Haymitch said.." "I don't care what Haymitch said." And that was the end of the conversation as the doors of the elevator opened to reveal the other tributes sitting in rows. District 1 was in front and then went in order, so we were in the very back. The room was small, and dark. Not like dark dark, but there were no windows and they had dim lighting. The seats were hard and like wooden benches, but were cold hard metal. As we sat down, District 1 went first. Then 2, then 3, and so on. It seemed like forever. When it got to me and Gale, I really started to get scared. "Gale Hawthorne" I look up at Gale and say "Good luck" and he went inside. Now it's just me. My stomach does flips and I'm taking deep breaths to calm myself. I do this for 5 minutes, until they call "Journey Lavender." This is it.

I walk inside the training room and the first thing I see is a bow. Then I found the game makers and Capital people on a balcony talking, laughing, drinking, and eating. They are too caught up in their talking to notice my presence. So I walk up and try to yell over them "Journey Lavender! District 12!" They all look at me and it seems I grab their attention. I walk over to the bow and take it in my hands. The way this bow is made is way different than the one I use to have in District 12. It's cold metal, and not wooden, but I still feel at peace with it. I grab an arrow and walk over to the targets. I take the arrow, position in and shoot. I missed the target completely, and the Capital people just laughed and shook their heads. Hmmm… I walk over again, grab another arrow and I was now determined not to miss this time. I walk over to the target, position my arrow, I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I open my eyes, and shoot. BULLSEYE! Right in the middle of the target. I smile and look over to see that the Capital people weren't paying attention. ARE YOU FRICKING KIDDING ME!? Now I'm pissed. I look around and see what I can shoot at. I spot a roasted pig on a table with an apple in it's mouth. I smirk. I grab another arrow, Position it, breath, and shoot.

Everyone stopped. They had a look of shock, and amazement plastered on their faces as they looked back and forth at the apple pinned to the wall and me. Seneca Crane who is head game keeper 3 years running, Looks straight at me with a look that says "Impossible". I give a little curtsy and say "Thank you.. for you consideration" and put the bow back, and stomp away.

When I went up stairs, I was greeted by laughing Gale, a smirking Cinna, and a very pissed off Effie Trinket. Oh great. "Are you crazy!?" I roll my eyes "I just got mad!" "MAD!? DON'T YOU KNOW THAT WHAT YOU'VE JUST DONE MAY HAVE JUST PUT ALL OF OUR REPS ON THE LINE!? NOT JUST YOU!" Effie was pacing back and forth. Cinna decided to step in "It could be for a good show Effie. It's fine." Gale also steps in to help me. "Yeah. I mean if they like to watch a show about kids killing each other, then I bet they can like a girl shooting an arrow at an apple." Effie huffs. "No! It's the bad manners!" Then Haymitch walks in with a smirk on his face. "Well finally! I hope you've noticed that we have a serious problem!" Effie yelledl pointing at me. Haymitch looks at me, smiles and gives me a thumbs up. I smile back knowing that I did a good job and my mentor thinks so. "Nice shooting sweetheart. HAHAHA! Oh man, what did they do when you… you shot the arrow?" "Well, they looked pretty.. startled." Haymitch laughs again so do the rest of us.. except Effie. "So.. what did you say to them? Thanks for…?" I nod and say "Thanks for your consideration." And me and him both laugh. I didn't realize how funny it was until now. "That was genius sweetheart! GENIUS!" Effie interrupts "I don't see how we can find this funny if the game makers decide to take it out on her, Gale, or any of us Haymitch!" Haymitch groans. "I think they already have, so loosen your corset and have a drink." Effie glares and Haymitch, but he ignores it and says to me "I'd give **ANYTHING** to see it!" I smile at him.

When I got out of my training uniform and took a nice hot shower and put on my pj's, we were all sitting on the couch listening to our scores. Caesar Flickerman was of course telling the scores. That man just annoys me sometimes.

"As you know, the tributes were rated on a scale from 1 to 12 after 3 days of careful evaluation. Head Game keeper Seneca Crane would like to(bla, bla, bla, long speech)now from

District 1

Marvel score-9

(bla, bla)

District 2

Cato score-10

Clove score-10

(He kept going and going until he reached District 11)

District 11

Thresh score-9

Rue score-7

Now for District 12

Gale Hawthorne score-10

(Everyone claps for Gale. "Congrats" I said with a smile. He smiles back and says "thanks")

Lastly from District 12 is

Journey Lavender score...can this be right… (he looks up with a big smile and says) a score of 11!"

WHAT!? I! ME!? I GOT THE HIGHEST SCORE!? Everyone clapped, cheered, and congratulated me while I was still looking at the screen that went blank. I was still in shock. I look over to Gale and he has a full on smile played on his face. "Congrats!" His smile actually made me smile a little."Thanks" I look over at Haymitch "I thought they hated me?" Haymitch smiles "They must've liked your guts." Cinna stood up and held his wine glass in the air "To Journey Lavender The Girl On FIRE!" They all clicked their glasses together and we celebrated.

**Seneca CranePOV **

"A Twelve?" I nod as I look up at President Snow. "Yes sir. She earned it"

"By shooting an arrow at your head!?"

"At an apple" I corrected.

"Yes. An apple near your head. Seneca, sit." He motions for me to sit on the bench. I sit and he says "Why do you think we have the Hunger Games?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean. Why do we have a winner? I mean if we just wanted to intimidate the districts, why don't we just round up 23 kids and just kill them all at once? It would be a whole lot faster wouldn't it?...Hope."

"Hope?"

"Yes hope. It is the only thing stronger than fear. A little hope is effective, but a lot of hope is dangerous. A spark is fine.. as long as it can be contained." As he says this he is picks up a white rose and trims it.

"So?"

"So **contain** it!"

I nod my head. "Right"

**JourneyPOV**

Gale wasn't here as we were eating dinner. Neither was Haymitch. But just as I mention Haymitch, he walks in and sits down. "Where's Gale?" Haymitch looks at me and says "he's in his room… Now listen, and they let us mentors work with our own tributes before the game so you and me are going down at nine." Wait.. he didn't mention Gale. "Well.. what about Gale?" Everyone went quiet. "Well, he says he wants to train on his own." I'm confused. "W-what?" "This thing sometimes happens at this point. I mean there can only be one winner right?" But it's not fair! Gale can't just give up like that!? The whole table becomes silent for a few minutes, until Effie decides to break the silence. "Well! I think it is time for some chocolate strawberries!" As they were eating their dessert, I was thinking about how Gale doesn't want to train.

**An: HEY HEY! Ok, I am soo sorry for not updating, but it is stressful since I'm starting my Divergent story and I have school.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

After training with Haymitch,(which was frustrating as hell since he kept nagging!) It was time to get ready for the interviews. I am nervous about the interviews because I don't like to talk to … life is cruel. Since I was sweating from training, I had to get scrubbed down again. I had to also get another quick waxing done and I wasn't too happy about that.(I mean who wants to go through that!?) When I was done, I met with Cinna who had a dress ready for me. I didn't get to see it, because he wanted it to be a surprise, so my eyes were on the t.v.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please give a round of applause for Caesar Flickerman!" The whole crowd stood and cheered as Ceasar stood from his chair. All of Panem was there. The stage was plain, screens were around it and showed many different pictures of Caesar. 'Huh self centered much?' Cinna laughs. Opps, I didn't know I said it out loud. Cinna looks at me and says "don't worry sweetheart, I think the same thing." I smile at him and then glued my eyes back to the projector screen. "HAHAHA! WELCOME! WELCOME! To the 74th HUNGER GAMES! In 5 minutes, we will be interviewing ALL the tributes. ARE YOU EXCITED!?" They all scream YES and clap.

"Ok. You can look now." I turn around and see me… only it doesn't look like me. My hair is up, with a jeweled haircomb stuck at the edge of the bun. My eyes had a dark brown smokey eye, and nude glossed lips. My dress was red, it had red lace from the shoulders to the waist, and drops with a long flowy material. I had red ruby earrings with small diamond butterflies on them. "You look amazing!" I turn around "well I don't feel amazing." I say grumpy. It's true. "I feel..out of place." Cinna's smile drops. "Don't you know how beautiful you look?" I huff "No! But I don't really care how I look and I don't know how to make people like me! How do you make people like you?" Cinna Chuckles "Well you made me like you" I roll my eyes "Yeah well that was different. I wasn't even trying." Cinna smiles. "Exactly Journey. Just be yourself. And i'll be there the whole time, so just pretend you're talking to me... Oh! Almost forgot." He takes out my mockingjay pin and clips it on. Now that I have that pin, I feel much better. "Ok?" I nod my head yes "ok." and we are off.

We were all lined up in order as usual, starting with District 1. All the girls were giving me glares except Foxface, and Rue. I mentally and maybe physically glared at them back. I really didn't have time to deal with jealous bitches right now. How can anyone envy me? I mean, I'm just me. When I felt a warm presence, I turn around to find Gale. Gale was wearing a black and white suit and his brown hair was slicked back. I had to admit that he looked pretty handsome, but I had to shake those thoughts out, so I can focus on the interview. "Hey" He looks down at me "hey." That's pretty much all we say to each other. I didn't want to mention anything about the training..right now. As the line keeps getting shorter and shorter I get nervous. I have stage fright and could never be in front of a lot of people. When it was Rue's Turn, I watched her interview. "So Rue! You scored a 7 in the skill test and that is a pretty good score for a young girl like yourself!" "Thank you" she says in a shy sweet voice. The crowd goes "aww" and so do I. "So you are a gatherer and a healer?" She nods her head and blushes. " I hear you are also quick." Again she nods yes. "So how do you think that will play out in the arena?" She smiles and says with confidence "I'm hard to catch. If they can't catch me they cant kill me. So don't count me out." I smiled at what she said. That was clever.

After Thresh, it was my turn. I slowly walk up the stairs, and wait for my cue to go on stage.

"From District 12, you know her as the girl on FIRE! (the crowd cheers) the lovely Journey Lavender!" The crowd scream my name as I was out. The lights blind me for only a split second until I could see the crowd. Oh my god! That's too many people. I start to feel a little dizzy as I walk up to Caesar. I start to block the crowd out as I sit down. The heat of the burning bright lights burn my cold skin. Then when my head comes back to Earth, I notice Caesar looking at me as if he asked me something. "What?" Everyone starts laughing and I look at them as if they're all crazy. "Someone seems a little nervous" Casar says, almost like a tease. No shit I'm nervous!

"I said that was a fantastic entrance you made at the Tribute Parade Journey. Very, very special! Do you wanna tell us about it?"

"Well we were just hoping I wouldn't burn to death. I mean it was pretty hot" Again, the crowd laughs. Oh is that funny to you?! I think in my head angrily. "Well, when you came out of that chariot my heart stopped!(looks to the crowd) Did any of you feel that way as well. My heart just stopped" The crowd clapped as if to say yes. I smile and say "so did mine." As the crowd laughs I decide to laugh with them. "Now tell me about the flames. Were they real?" I smile and say "Yes... In fact, I'm wearing them today. Would you like to see them? I'm sure you'd love them" That crowd claps and cheers. "Are you sure it's safe?" I try to give a sweet smile and say "Yes. I promise that it's safe Caesar. I wouldn't want to put any of you in danger!" I get up in the middle of the stage, and look at Cinna in the audience. He nods and I start to spin around. Pretty soon, there are flames blazing from the bottom of the dress, to where my knees are. The crowd goes crazy saying 'OH MY GOD!' as I keep spinning, and spinning, and spinning. Pretty soon, I lose my footing and almost fell. Thank god I didn't! As I steady myself the room seems to be spinning. and I quickly sit down. "WOW! Now that was something! I..I don't have words to say… just... Thank you for sharing that with us." He grabs my right hand and the crowd goes silent.

"...I have one more question… about Prim and your brother" My head shoots up to Caesar, and my smile fades. "We were all very moved, I think, when you volunteered for her and her sister at the Reaping. Did they come and say goodbye to you?" I take a deep breath "Y-yes. They did." He nods his head and acts sad, when I know it's really for the cameras. It took everything in me not to punch him. "And what did you say to them in the end?" My eyes start to sting as I'm trying to fight back tears. "I told them that I would try. That I would try and win for them… I promised." The crowd goes "awwwww" and Caesar says "How brave you are... and try you will." Then he kisses my hand and we both stand up. "Ladies and gentlemen, from District 12, Journey Lavender the girl on FIRE!" And then, I was Off that stage.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

When I got off stage, I felt like I wanted to punch somebody. That somebody was Caesar Flickerman. How dare he bring up Prim and Katniss!? For his own advantage! Effie came up and gave me a hug. "Oh that was just lovely darling!" Haymitch decided to speak up also. "Well done sweetheart. Nice dress too." Then he looks over at Effie and whispers "not yours" and I couldn't help but laugh. I couldn't agree more though because she was wearing a lot of green from head to toe. When they left arguing, I was pacing back and forth as I watched the screen. It was Gale's turn to be interviewed and him and Caesar were chatting about how great Panem is.

"So Gale, how are you liking the Capital?" He thinks and says "It's..very different. Very different than back home." It sure as hell is. "Different? Can you give us an example please?" He hesitates for a moment before saying "Yeah, ok uhh.. the showers here are weird. VERY different then District 12" Everyone starts to laugh and Caesar gives a confused look. " We have different showers? ." He looks at Caesar. "Tell me something Caesar. Do I smell like roses to you?" Ok what kind of question is that? Caesar looks hesitant for awhile but leans over and.. sniffs him? That's not weird at all. Note the sarcasm. "Yes. You do. Do I smell like roses?" What the.. ok now this is just getting too weird to watch. Gale leans over and smells him. "You smell way better than I do." Gale says with a smirk. "Yes well, I've lived here longer. Maybe that's why." Then they all laugh. "Ok. So Gale, tell us. Is there a lucky lady back home?" Yep. Katniss. He's going to say Katniss. Oh man, I wonder how Katniss is going to react when she hears it. "No. No, not really." Huh, lying about it is not smart. Romance can give him more sponsors. "No? I don't believe it for a second! Look at that handsome face! A handsome man like you has got to have a special lady!" Gale looks dead serious as he says "there is this one girl, that I've grown..to love. But she hasn't noticed me until the Reaping happened."

Umm… huh? "Oh.. well let me tell you something. I want you to try your best in the and win this thing. And when you get home, she'll have to go out with you. Trust me." Gale shakes his head and says "Thanks, but I don't think winning is going to help at all...because she came here with me." WHAT. THE. HELL!? Caesar looks shocked beyond belief and so did the crowd "You do know that's some major bad luck Gale? And she is so young! So innocent.." Gale nods his head and says "yes.. Yes it is. And I know she's young… but we can't help it. It was fate...love at first sight." Well it won't be as bad of luck until I get my hands on you! "Well we wish you both the best of luck! Ladies and gentlemen, from District 12, GALE HAWTHORNE!" The crowd cheers and claps as he gets off the stage. All I see is red. And all that red is focused on Gale's head.

As Gale gets down stairs, I run up to him and slap him hard on his cheek, leaving a little red mark. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!? YOU DON'T TALK TO ME, U DON'T WANT MY HELP WITH TRAINING, AND NOW WE'RE A FRIGGING COUPLE!?" All of a sudden, I feel someone pull me away from Gale and I look back to see it was Haymitch. I don't care I just keep on ranting. "IS THAT HOW YOU WANT TO PLAY THIS!?" I was about to take another swing, when Haymitch jumps in front of me and blocks me. "Calm DOWN! He did you a favor sweet cheeks!" A FAVOR!? "ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? HE MADE ME LOOK WEAK!"

"No! you both need all the help you can get, and the only way for that to happen is to have a forbidden romance. Now I can sell that" Cinna decides to step in. "He's right Journey." I glare at Gale, who is looking at me in shock. "We are NOT in a forbidden romance!" I hissed. "It's a t.v show! None of it is real! That's why it's called acting sweetheart! What Gale said on t.v was an act! And if people see that you guys are in love, that may get you sponsors! Me and Gale have already thought it through." I look up at Haymitch. "Is that what you two were talking about the day after the parade? Is that what you kept from me!? I think I had a damn right to know!"

Everyone went silent. After about a few minutes, I calmed down and Haymitch thought it was safe talk. "Alright. Lets go upstairs. I hope I can deliver you two in one piece tomorrow." He takes both of us upstairs and I quickly stomp to my room to blow off steam. It was hours of screaming into my pillow, and punching my pillow to get me to relax. When I looked at my clock, It read 12:30 am. CRAP! The games are...today. Now I start to feel scared. A shiver runs down my spine and I start to think about the "what if's" in the arena. If I can make it out alive. I start to get nervous and decide a few minutes on the balcony might calm me down.

I put on my pj's, my robe, and went out to the balcony. I love the balcony because I could see all of Panem. The lights from the building looked like you were surrounded by millions of stars. As I walked out of my room, into the dark living room, I looked out to the balcony and saw Gale sitting cross legged on the floor of the balcony. I start to feel bad about hitting him, so I decide to talk to him. "Hey.. You can't sleep either huh?" He jumps a little in surprise and turns his head toward me. Once he realized it was me he relaxed. "Oh.. hey. Yeah, I don't think anyone could sleep knowing that they are going into an arena and is likely to get killed." He laughs in a dry tone. I chuckle and walk over to sit next to him. "So.. I think since we are "dating" now, I think I should know about you more." We both laugh when I said "dating". The word felt so weird to me, because I've never had a boyfriend. I mean I have a guy friend, but Peeta is not who I could ever end up with. He was too much like a brother. Kind of like Gale. "Ok. What do you want to know?" I think for a second and then said "well.. do you have a family back home?" He looks down and smiles.

"Yeah I do. I have three younger siblings Rory, Vick, and the only girl, Posy who was born after my dad died in the mining accident. After he died, I was providing for them by hunting with Katniss since I was the oldest. Mom helps too, but she barely gets any money so.." I nod in understanding. "What about you?" I look up at him and see that he meant my family. Oh great. "Well.. I have a younger brother Flex, and I've been taking care of him ever since the mining explosion. My mother was a drunk, and I would have to hunt, or trade things in the house for food, but my mom would always trade the food to buy more alcohol. So we had this big argument and she got her life back together after a few months." I looked at Gale to see him staring at me with a look that says "I'm so sorry…" I rolled my eyes and said "No need to feel sorry for me. I don't." He smiles up at me and we both look out to the city. Feeling the cool breeze hit my face.

"I'm sorry I hit you. I overreacted.." He interrupted me by saying "I deserved it. I should've told you." I shake my head no. After a few minutes of silence I had to bring this up. "So.. what are you thinking about?" I ask. He keeps looking out at the city and says "I don't want the games to change me. You know? I don't want to be another piece in their game." I nod my head in understanding. I didn't want them to change me either. "If I'm gonna die.. I want to still be me." I look up at him. "You won't die Gale. You a way better chance of living than I do." Gale looks at me this time and says "I won't let you die! I won't let the damn Capitol kill an innocent girl for there own enjoyment!" "GALE!" He stops to look at me and realized that he was too caught up in his anger. "S-sorry." Without thinking, I put my hand on his, and he holds on to mine. We both look down at our hands for about 3 minutes until I realized what I was doing. I put my hand back, and I said a quick sorry and went back to my room. I went to bed and thought of nothing but the arena.

**AN:OK THE GAMES ARE ABOUT TO START! I HOPE YOU LIKE THE LITTLE GALE AND JOURNEY MOMENT! I HOPE IT WASN'T TOO CREEPY OR BAD! **


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